Charlotte Independence manager Jim McGuinness with Daniel Mulhall, Irish Ambassador to the United States of America.

Former Donegal football manager Jim McGuinness has been formally welcomed to the United States by His Excellency Daniel Mulhall, Irish Ambassador to the United States, following his appointment last month as Head Coach of the Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League (USL).

Ambassador Mulhall visited the Charlotte Independence offices to welcome McGuinness on behalf of the Irish community in the US. Work is underway for the Glenties man, who has started a three-year contract as Head Coach of the Charlotte Independence, his first head coach position in professional club football after switching from Gaelic football. He has previously worked in coaching positions at Glasgow Celtic FC and Beijing Sinobo Guoan FC in the Chinese Super League.

Prior to his move to football, McGuinness had a very successful management career with Donegal, including winning the 2012 All-Ireland senior football title.

Jim commented: “We are delighted to welcome Ambassador Mulhall and his wife Greta to the Charlotte Independence. His support is much appreciated. Indeed, the welcome we have received from everyone in Charlotte, especially the Irish community, since we have arrived has been overwhelming. We look forward to welcoming all of our supporters to our first game on March 15th at the Sportsplex at Matthews, and we hope it won’t be long before the Ambassador can join us for a game back here in Charlotte as well.”

During their meeting, Ambassador Mulhall said: “I am delighted to formally welcome Jim to the US and to Charlotte. Ireland is already very well represented in the business, cultural and sporting communities in Charlotte, and I am sure that Jim’s appointment as Head Coach of the Charlotte Independence will further strengthen the sporting links between Ireland and Charlotte. Jim is an exceptional figure in Irish sport and will bring his unique talents to the Charlotte Independence. We wish him, and the team, every success for the 2019 season.”

The Charlotte Independence plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship. The USL is North America's largest professional soccer organisation, overseeing the USL Championship, USL League One and USL League Two. More than 100 clubs participate across the three divisions with massive growth of 95% in attendance between 2014 and 2018. 2.8 million tickets were sold for games in 2018 which is an increase of a third from 2017.